And All Will Come To Darkness
by nightshade468
Summary: In Harry's third year, his godmother comes out of hiding, bringing a few secrets with her. Starts out minorly AU, and will become moreso. SiriusxOC, JamesxLily, MoonyxOC, PeterxOC. R&R!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Ok, if you recognize it, I don't own it. All I own at this point is Lyra.

And All Will Come To Darkness

by nightshade468

Prologue

_Albus Dumbledore was weary. _

_The Ministry of Magic refused to even listen to him. Hogwarts and a large portion of the Wizarding World was dependent upon him to carry them through the rising darkness. The survival of said Wizarding community was in all likelihood dependent on a thirteen-year-old boy. And to top it off, a Death Eater, a man that Dumbledore would have once trusted with his life, was at large and out for said thirteen-year-old's blood._

_So, yes, Albus Dumbledore was weary. And he felt he had good reason to be. _

_Which was why he didn't notice the figure standing in the shadows until they spoke. _

"_Professor. It's been a while."_

_Dumbledore spun, his wand pointed at the intruder, who stepped into the light of his office. He stared._

_Lyra Black had changed in the eleven years since he had seen her last. When he had last laid eyes on her, she had been a grieving young woman, worn down from miscarriage and the deaths of loved ones. Amongst other things. _

_She was still short, perhaps reaching his shoulder, but very well toned, as was obvious with the tight Muggle clothing she wore. And she carried herself differently. Always confident, now she seemed completely at ease with herself. Her blue eyes, so like her father's, had seen loss, had seen death, but now were cold, frozen over._

_She had survived, but it seemed part of her had been locked away with her husband. And then buried with her father._

"_Lyra, my dear." He smiled. He had always held a place in his heart for this young woman. "Please sit down."_

"_I'll stand, if it's all the same to you, Professor," she said quietly._

"_Very well." He sat behind his desk and folded his hands upon it. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I have something of importance that I wish to speak to you about."_

a/n: Woot! Ok, folks, that was just the prologue. This might get interesting, because I'm gonna be skipping back and forth between past and present, but this is probably gonna be the only one, besides an interlude or two, that is not in Lyra's p.o.v. Ok, tell me what you think! And this is my first time posting on so constructive criticism is great, but if you tell me that you think my story sucks and leave it at that, I will delete your review. Right! Now that we've got that cleared up, off to Chapter 2!


	2. Chapter I

a/n: For all those who reviewed (whom I am apparently not allowed to thank individually, argh), thank you so much. Apparently the moronic server has been sending all the reviews to my email's junk folder, and imagine my surprise when I go to clean that out and see all you guys' comments! Woot! Anyway, you got me going again with this one, and I will be attempting to update my other story, Aniron, within the next few days.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, darn it. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling and her genius. Slightly AU, will probably be completely AU at the end of Harry's 5th year. Mwahaha, if that isn't a giveaway, I don't know what is…

And All Will Come To Darkness

Chapter I … Memories

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"Da, I'm not sure I want to do this."

Kighan Montague met his daughter's bright blue eyes, so like his own, and forced a smile onto his face. Inside he was weeping; his daughter was all he had left of his family. Of his wife. _Tessa…_

Lyra knew exactly when her father thought of her mother. His eyes darkened to a deep indigo, and his smile seemed forced. With a sob, the young girl threw herself into her father's arms, trying so hard not to cry. It wasn't working.

"Lyra, lass, look at me," Kighan murmured, loosening his embrace just enough to pull back and turn her face to his. "You will do this. And so will I. You will get on the train, and I will go home. And then, when you're at school and having a wonderful time, you'll owl me, understood?" He smiled and brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tears that glistened there. "No more tears, a nighean. Come now; let me remember that beautiful smile." (a/n: Gaelic endearment, 'my heart')

Lyra hiccupped and nodded, attempting to smile. She sniffed back her tears, then reached over and kissed her father's cheek. He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, lass, Christmas will be here before you know it."

She nodded, then took a step back. "Bye, Da." She turned and walked to the train, slowly at first but then picking up speed, her steps becoming more confident. Her father watched her go, his blue yes still darkened. Small for her age, his little girl looked like a sprite compared to the tall students rushing around her. He sighed. She would be all right; she was as strong as her mother.

The train's whistle blew, and it pulled out of the station. Kighan watched it go; when it had passed around the last bend, he wiped away the one tear that had fallen onto his cheek.

"Goodbye, my lass," he whispered, and Disapparated.

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Lyra jogged down the aisle, her backpack bouncing and her long brown braid flopping. She turned to look into a compartment and felt herself collide with someone else.

Falling back, she found herself meeting a pair of surprised, bright green eyes.

"Sorry!" she said, embarrassed. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The girl seemed nervous. "It's ok," she replied. "I was going too fast, anyway."

Lyra grinned. "So there's no empty ones up at the front, huh?" she asked.

"No," the girl answered. "I was just about to check in the back." She looked embarrassed again, and Lyra smiled a bit more gently.

"Hey, we could go in the very back, be the caboose," she suggested.

The girl smiled then, hesitantly. "Sure."

The two turned toward the back of the train, chatting as they ducked to the side to avoid the older students.

"I'm Lily," the other girl said. "Lily Evans."

"Lyra Montague. Pleased to meet you."

They shook hands and laughed. Finally, they found an empty compartment in the last car of the train. Lily turned to put her bag up on the luggage rack, and Lyra took the opportunity to look at her new friend more closely. Her father had always told her to pay attention to everything, even the tiniest details. You never knew when they would come in handy later.

Lily had long, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and she was tall, several inches taller than Lyra. She was very pretty, and now that she had relaxed, she was quite cheerful as well.

"So," Lyra said once Lily had turned back around. "Are you excited?"

"Oh yes!" Lily exclaimed. Her eyes seemed to get even brighter. "My parents were so surprised when I got the letter, but as soon as I read it, I knew it sounded like it would be perfect!"

Lyra tilted her head. "You were surprised? Oh, are you muggle-born, then?" she asked, curious. She'd always wanted to meet someone who lived in the muggle world; it sounded so interesting.

"Oh," Lily said, looking a bit surprised. "Yes, I mean, my parents aren't a witch and a wizard, if that's what you mean. They thought the whole thing was made up at first. Didn't yours?"

Lyra looked down at her feet. "Not exactly. My family's…" she trailed off. Then, looking up with a determined look on her face. "My family's an old wizarding bloodline, the Montagues. And my mum, she was an O'Siannon." At Lily's confused look, she elaborated. "The O'Siannons are a very old line from Ireland. They date back to before the Christians came. And my father's family… well, they're all purebloods." She scrunched up her nose.

"What's the difference?" Lily asked, looking interested. "I mean, you say 'pureblood' as if it's a bad thing. Does it change anything?"

"NO!" Lyra exclaimed. Lily looked a bit taken aback at her vehemence, and she calmed a bit. "It's the stupid ideas that my grandfather's got, that my uncles and cousins and everybody but my father and me've got, that being a pureblood makes you better than anybody else. It doesn't! My mum was half-muggle, and she could've kicked all their arses!"

Lily looked a bit uncomfortable. "So they're all prejudiced?"

Lyra sighed. "Not all of them. Not me, not my dad, and not a lot of people. But there are also people who _are_, even at Hogwarts. Just watch out for the Slytherins. They're the worst."

"Slytherin House?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I want to be in Gryffindor."

"Me too! My dad was, and he says it's the best house there is."

"What about your mum?"

Lyra looked away. "Um, my mum didn't go to Hogwarts. The O'Siannons study the old ways, and they're taught by their own kin."

Lily noticed her friend looked uncomfortable, but she pressed on anyway. "So is she going to teach you?"

Lyra closed her eyes. "No, she's… she died last year." She gulped, and Lily gasped, but Lyra waved her apologies away. "It's ok. I just miss her a lot sometimes, you know?"

Lily looked close to tears herself. She came over and sat next to Lyra, wrapping her arms around her. "I know." Lyra returned the embrace for a minute, then stood up, wiping her eyes.

"But she did teach me one thing, and I'm always gonna remember it."

"What was it?"

"It's your actions, not your blood, that determine your worth as a being."

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The squeaking of the trolley woke Lyra Black, née Montague, from a deep sleep, and she peeled her head off the window to see the elderly witch pause at the door to her compartment.

"Anything off the trolley, dear?"

Lyra smiled politely. "No, thank you." The witch nodded, smiled again, and moved on. Lyra resumed her former position, listening to the squeak of the cart as it continued up the aisle. She gazed up at her luggage, situated in the rack above her. All black. Even her robes. Ironic, she thought morbidly, returning her gaze to the darkening horizon as the hours dragged by.

Suddenly, she sensed it, that slimy presence creeping through her mind. _Blast!_ She thought, reaching for her wand, the same 13.5 inch rowan with dragon heartstring that she had had her first year at school. Her wand flew into her hand instantly, knowing that its mistress needed it.

The lights went out, and the air turned frigid.

Lyra stalked out into the aisleway, her dark robes flowing behind her. She saw one of the bloody creatures entering one of the compartments, from which gasping sounds were being emitted.

"Enough!" she called, and the dementor spun to face her. One of its fellows appeared behind it; she approached them confidently, not allowing their affect on her to show.

Lyra raised her wand, but suddenly a scream echoed through her head.

"_SIRIUS! NO! Ye canna do this, ye bloody fecking bastards! Let me GO! SIRIUS!"_

_Pain… so much pain… the scent of blood… so dizzy… falling… darkness…_

"_LIA!" A voice screamed hoarsely. "LIA! NOOOOOO…"_

_The scream faded into silence as the darkness took her…_

"Damn you!" Lyra shook her head violently, then raised her wand once again, forcing her mind to focus. _I love you, Li…_ "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A huge silvery hound leapt from her wand, charging the dementors with a snarl. They wailed and swept away, out of the train, and the lights came back on.

The Patronus turned and trotted back to her, tongue lolling in a doggy grin. Lyra smiled softly, and stroked its head, whereupon it vanished. She sighed, and her mask dropped back into place.

"Who are you?" she heard a haughty voice behind her ask. She didn't even need to turn to know who that was. _If any man should have been forbidden to sire children, it would be Lucius._

"Excuse me! I was addressing you!" The voice continued, and Lyra heard the bratty young Draco Malfoy follow her down the corridor. "Hey!"

The compartment door was slammed in his face.

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Professor Dumbledore stood to make his customary speech. The students quieted immediately, and Lyra glanced over at Remus Lupin, but he was talking to Professor Flitwick and didn't notice her gaze.

"I have a few start-of-term announcements to make. First years would do well to note that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Some of our older pupils would do well to remember that also." His eye fell on what Lyra would swear were younger versions of Gid and Fab Prewett.

"And now, I would like to announce that after 30 years of distinguished service, Professor Kettleburn has decided to retire and enjoy the use of his remaining limbs. In his place is our own gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid!" There was quite a bit of cheering at this, from everywhere except the Slytherin table, Lyra noted.

"Also, I am pleased to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin!" Lyra clapped loudly at that, resisting the urge to whistle. Moony rolled his eyes, but bowed in her direction.

"And lastly, I would like to inform all of you that, due to an invitation to a year-long sabbatical, Professor Binns has decided to deprive us of his well-loved presence this term. However, I am delighted to present to you your new History of Magic professor, Lyra Black!"

Lyra stood and nodded, noting the confused looks on some of the students' faces with some amusement. Others noted her surname and began to whisper. She smiled, her eyes cold. She wasn't running anymore. Not from anyone, leastwise those morons in the Ministry. The clapping was a bit less enthusiastic for her than it had been for Remus or Hagrid, but to be honest Lyra really didn't care.

She sat and met Dumbledore's eyes squarely, her face showing just the tiniest smirk, her eyes still cold as ice.

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The Sorting.

"Black, Narcissa."

"SLYTHERIN!" Big surprise there. Bellatrix Black certainly looked happy. Lyra pitied the oldest one, Andromeda. Ah, well, at least she was out of Hogwarts.

"Black, Sirius."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Whoa, hold on! A Black in Gryffindor? Well, she thought, he certainly looked happy. Elated, in point of fact, she thought with a chuckle.

She glanced at Lily, whose name would come up soon. Her friend looked completely calm. _How does she do that?_ Lyra wondered in amazement.

"Evans, Lily."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Lily grinned, and practically skipped to the Gryffindor table, making Lyra giggle.

"Flint, Morius!"

"SLYTHERIN!" Another surprise. Note the sarcasm.

Several more names passed, ones she recognized and ones she didn't.

Finally…

"Montague, Lyra."

The hat sat on her head, but it was silent. Was it supposed to be silent? Lyra began to sweat. She was just about to go into panic mode when the hat hollered,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Bloody hell, yes! Lyra felt like punching the sky as she stood, composed herself, and walked proudly over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the ugly looks she was getting from the Slytherins.

As soon as she sat, the smile that had threatened to break through erupted, and she couldn't stop grinning. Lily grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a sitting sort of victory-dance-thing, and Lyra laughed.

"Feels pretty good, doesn't it?" The question came from across the table, and Lyra turned her gaze to meet the dark brown one of the boy sitting across from her. A shiver went down her spine as she stared into eyes that reminded her of her father's staghound, Huan.

"Yeah," she said after a moment, remembering that he had asked a question. "Yeah, it does."

The boy grinned, brushing his floppy black hair out of his face. "I'm Sirius," he said, holding out his hand across the table.

She took it, with a smirk. "Doesn't look like it."

The boy groaned. "That pun gets really old. Okay, trying again. Sirius Black, at your service, milady."

"Lyra Montague. It's nice to meet you, Monsieur Black."

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"So you really expect to have this place cleaned out by tomorrow morning, Li?"

Lyra grinned at him and handed him a dust rag. "With your help, yeah. Get cleaning, Moony."

"Hey, you're better at this that I am. All those detentions, cleaning without a wand and such."

"I never said you couldn't use a wand."

"Even with wands, this will take all night, Lyra! Have you ever heard of a little thing called sleep?"

Lyra sighed, then looked up at him from her kneeling position on the floor of what had previously been the (unused, for obvious reasons) office of Professor Binns. "I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on sleeping a lot tonight."

Remus sat down on the floor next to her. "Me neither, Aura."

Lyra smiled at the use of her old nickname. "Just our luck to get the two cursed jobs at Hogwarts, huh?"

"Well, I just hope I last a bit longer than my predecessors."

"Hey, I don't want to last as long as Binns did, Moony!"

"Well, you never know, you were the only student in the history of Hogwarts to ever like his class."

"Yeah, so?"

"And you were the only one in our year to take N.E.W.T. level, you know? Didn't that give you a hint?"

"It was independent study."

"Only because for everyone else it would've been a sleep study."

"Well, that's why I'm teaching History of Magic, and you've got D.A.D.A., idiot!"

"Exactly."

The silence stretched. It had been a long time since the two friends had seen one another. Too long. Eleven years too long.

"Moony?"

"Hmm?"

The two sat leaning against the desk of her office, Lyra's head on Remus' shoulder.

"It still hurts."

"I know. Merlin, I miss…"

"Everything."

"Yeah."

"So do I."

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a/n: Whew! So, have I got you hooked yet? Mwahaha. I'm experimenting with the format; I think that after this, the chapters will stick to one time period each. This was pretty much to get you in the mood and set up the plotline. If it gets too confusing let me know! Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter II

a/n: Wow, guys, you made my day, you know that? It is so nice to hear that somebody likes my writing, since this is the first time I've ever really shown anybody what I've written, or writing, currently. Thank you so much. And I know the first part of this has a lot of description, but I'm just trying to get it out of the way. This should be the last of the intro chapters, where you meet the main players. All right, then, carry on!

Disclaimer: The usual. I own nobody but Lyra (and Maya, but you'll meet her in a minute).

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And All Will Come To Darkness

Chapter II … Voices From The Past…

"Wake up, you lazy slug!"

"No need for insults," Lyra muttered sleepily, burrowing deeper into her covers. She'd been up late the night before, studying because Lily had bribed her into it, and now said Prefect was forcing her to get up at the fucking crack of dawn. Not that she didn't have class. But still. It was O.W.L. year, after all. She deserved a bloody break.

"Maya! Get up!"

Lyra heard a groan from across the room and smirked as she sat up and stretched. At least she wasn't the only one Lily was pestering.

Said redhead was currently stomping around the room, gathering all her things for class and muttering under her breath about immature twits who _never_ got out of bed on time and always made her late.

The dormitory door slammed shut behind her, and Maya stuck her head out from the covers, her curly blond hair bearing an uncanny resemblance to a birds' nest. Lyra smirked, fighting her laughter. She lost the battle, and Maya's pillow smacked her in the face.

"You don't exactly look like Sleeping Beauty either, Lyr!"

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The three fifth-year Gryffindor girls entered the Great Hall together, as always. The windows were open, and Lyra took a deep breath of the clean spring air as she took her usual seat, between Lily and Remus Lupin, and across from Maya.

"Well, if it isn't the three most beautiful girls in Hogwarts," a laughing voice said from behind her. "Will you marry me and let me love you forever, Lady Montague?"

"I'd like to believe you, Sirius, but you'd only break my heart," Lyra said with a chuckle, holding out her hand over her shoulder. Her borrowed History of Magic notes were dropped into it. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_," Sirius said smoothly. Lyra rolled her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lily gearing up for a fight and put an arm around her red-headed friend's shoulders.

"Don't bother, Lils," she said resignedly. "He'll never change." Both their gazes were drawn to Sirius, now sitting on Remus' other side, who was currently chatting up Hailey Stuart, a fourth-year Chaser on the Gryffindor team. Maya and Remus, who had turned to see what the girls were scowling at, rolled their eyes simultaneously, while Lily turned away, muttering.

"They're not the only ones who'll never change. All I need now is-"

"Morning, Evans. You're looking good."

"Potter! Just leave me alone, would you?"

"Well, I was just wondering if maybe-"

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Because…"

As James and Lily got into their customary morning repartee, Lyra sipped her coffee and chuckled along with Maya, who turned to Remus and struck up a conversation involving some type of Transfiguration. Lyra tuned them out, drifting off into her thoughts, which eventually circled back to her friends.

Maya and Remus were having some sort of Transfiguration debate, and Maya's curls bounced as she shook her heard. Lyra smiled. Maya Cooper had become very close to Lily and Lyra during first year, seeing as they were all sharing a dormitory, and the pretty blond girl was the third of their trio. She was quiet most of the time, preferring to listen rather than to draw attention to herself, but when she did talk, what she had to say was usually rather important, and all of her friends had leaned to pay attention. She could be quite passionate, however, and the object of said passion was currently arguing with her, Lyra thought with a smirk.

Remus. What could be said about Remus Lupin, Lyra wondered. He was tall and lean, with soft-looking light brown hair and striking amber eyes. Quite studious, he had made Prefect alongside Lily this year, although Lyra had the suspicion that Dumbledore had done so in the hopes that Remus would keep his friends in line. Fat chance. Remus was also a Chaser on the Gryffindor team, although he missed a few practices a month, usually around the full moon. Lyra, Maya and Lily had figured out several years ago that their friend disappeared for three days at every full moon, and they knew what that meant, but they refused to say anything. Whether or not Remus was a werewolf did not matter to them, nor was it any of their business.

Lyra's attention was drawn back to the argument occurring on her other side. James had apparently drawn Peter into it, asking if Lily was not the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts, and Peter looked slightly scared, caught between a stubborn git and a frighteningly angry redhead as he was. Lyra pitied him.

Peter Pettigrew. A short, stocky boy who was another member of the "Marauders", also known as the fifth-year Gryffindor boys. Pete had fine blond hair and a slightly pointed face; though not handsome, he was typically quite cheerful and joking, and was fun to be around.

Unfortunately, he was currently in imminent danger. Caught between James Potter and Lily, he was nearly being tugged back and forth. The two were pretty much unreachable once they had gotten into it. Lily had a true redhead's temper, and James was stubborn as a rock. Lyra was a Seeker herself, and she could honestly say that James was one of the best Chasers she had ever seen play. His skill on the Quidditch pitch coupled with messy dark hair, mischievous hazel eyes and what Lyra had heard some of the younger girls describe as "those cute glasses!" made him arguably one of the hottest boys in school. And he knew it. Unfortunately, he had had an unrequited crush on Lily since third year, and the tall Chaser made a point to ask her out on a weekly basis.

Needless to say, she refused. Every time.

"And just leave me ALONE!" Lily had apparently gotten quite fed up with James' pestering, and she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the Hall. James slumped into a seat dejectedly, Peter next to him, looking rather relieved.

"Would it kill her to say yes just once?" James muttered, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Well," Lyra said delicately, "Maybe it would help if you… refined your modus operandi. You come off as a bit of a git sometimes, you know."

James looked depressed. "I know, it's just… whenever I see her, anything I meant to say goes out the window, and, oh I don't know." He grabbed a piece of toast.

Lyra could see his point. Lily had gone from a pretty eleven-year-old to a beautiful young woman, and she was smart and sassy. Plenty of the boys in school liked her. James just couldn't seem to get it together enough to ask her out the right way.

She glanced at her watch, then stood and grabbed her books. "It'll happen, James. Eventually." She reached around Remus and grabbed Sirius' shoulder. "C'mon, we have Muggle Studies." Sirius nodded and stood, offering Hailey a charming smile, which made the younger girl beam.

"You really are incorrigible, you know," Lyra muttered as they made their way to class.

"What?" Sirius looked offended. "I happen to enjoy the company of the fairer sex. Of which you are a part, I might add. Nothing wrong with that."

"Nothing wrong with me being a girl, or nothing wrong with playing Casanova?"

"Both," he chuckled. "And I am not Casanova. I am the Don Juan de Hogwarts."

"Bloody hell," Lyra said bemusedly. "I don't understand how anyone's ego could ever grow as large as yours has."

Sirius just grinned, wisely saying nothing, and smirked at a pretty sixth-year passing by them. Lyra rolled her eyes, a habit that she feared she would never break while he was around. Yes, Sirius Black was a truly beautiful male specimen. She would admit that. He was well over six feet, his height about equal to that of James and Remus, and he had dark chocolate eyes and jet black hair that just brushed his shoulders and always looked perfect, no matter what he was doing (curse him). He was also a very good Quidditch player, a Beater, and he was arguably the best looking guy in the school. Lyra did not know one girl who had not admitted to liking Sirius at one point or another.

Except her. He wasn't her type, and that was that.

She rolled her eyes without even thinking as he put an arm around her shoulders. Charming poof, that one.

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"Lyra, are you working?"

Lily's question jolted Lyra, who had been staring at the Marauders. They were gathered in one of the back aisles of the library, all gathered around a book. Suspicious, that. Suddenly, all four simply turned and walked out of the room, so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't even say good-bye to the girls as they passed.

Lyra stood, curious, and pushed in her chair.

Maya glanced at her. "What are you doing?"

"I want to know what had them so distracted." She headed back to the stacks, Maya getting up to follow.

Lily watched them go, then turned back to her Potions essay with a short. "Probably just something about Quidditch. That's all they ever talk about, anyway."

Lyra and Maya looked at the shelves around where the Marauders had been standing. It was an old section on Transfiguration, and Maya grabbed her arm, pointing upwards to where a book stuck out slightly.

"I think that's the one they were poring through."

"All right," Lyra muttered. "Watch out for Pince, will you?" Maya nodded, and Lyra climbed up onto the wooden shelves, both of them being too short to reach the desired book. Grabbing the volume, she hopped lightly down, landing silently as a cat.

"Here." She handed it to Maya.

Her friend opened it and skimmed a few pages. She shut it carefully and looked up at Lyra. "You are not going to believe this."

Lily jumped as the heavy book slammed onto the table in front of her face. "What?" she asked, annoyed, then noticed the excited looks in her friends' eyes. "What'd you find?"

Lyra grinned. "They're trying to become Animagi."

"WHAT!" Lily yelped, and Lyra shushed her, narrowing her eyes at the students who had turned at the noise.

"They were in the Transfiguration section, absorbed by this. Then they practically ran out of here, still so engrossed in what they were talking about that they failed to notice us. I think they're going to try this," Maya concluded. "Why else would they have been reading it?"

Lily sighed. "They are going to be in sooo much trouble for this."

Maya stared at her. "No, they're not. None of us is going to tell."

"But-"

"No. They're our friends."

Lily sighed again. "Fine. But they could get hurt."

"They can take care of themselves," Maya insisted.

"I bet I know why they're doing it, too," Lyra said quietly. She got up, and pulled her two friends back into the stacks to talk in private.

Maya and Lily looked slightly nervous. It was rare that they ever saw Lyra this serious. No pun intended.

"They're doing it for Remus. Werewolves can't turn animals."

"That's ridiculous," Lily insisted, though she didn't look very sure.

"It would be like them," Maya said softly. "Although I'm surprised Remus is going along with it."

"Wouldn't you?" Lyra asked. "I would." Suddenly, she paused, and her eyes went wide. A smile formed on her lips.

"Uh oh. No, whatever it is, I don't want to hear it." Lily shook her head. "That smile is NEVER a good thing."

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The rest of fifth year seemed to pass in a blur. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup for the second year in a row, with Lyra catching the snitch eleven minutes into the game (versus Ravenclaw), making the final score 350-170 Gryffindor, giving the House Cup to them as well.

The ride back to London was understandably cheerful, and all seven Gryffindors bid each other cheerful good-byes. Sirius' was less cheerful than most, Lyra noticed, though, watching as her friend trudged miserably over to his parents, his younger brother Regulus (who had followed his family's example and been sorted into Slytherin) already waiting.

Lyra sighed, wishing that her friend had a family that loved him. She knew that all of them did their best to make up for Sirius' shitty home life, but no one could erase the bruises she had seen on her friend's back after Quidditch one day. He'd never said what they were from, but she hadn't needed to be told. What kind of parent would beat their own child just for befriending someone they didn't like?

She forced her thoughts away from the darkness as she hugged Lily one last time, promising to visit over break. Then she saw her father Apparate nearby and ran to him, to be swept up into his string arms.

As they Disapparated, Lyra sighed. As happy as she was to be going home, she couldn't help but worry. She had the worst feeling that something was going to happen.


	4. Chapter III

a/n: Thank you so much for the reviews, everybody! It is so nice to read those! I think I might go back and touch up Ch. 2 a bit. Those descriptions in the beginning sound a bit awkward. If anybody has any ideas, you're welcome to let me know! Ok, then, allons y!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. I wish I owned Sirius Black, actually. He could live under my bed… Alas, all credit goes to J.K. Rowling. Except Lyra and Maya, who own themselves, at least in my crazy imagination.

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And All Will Come To Darkness

By nightshade468

Chapter 3 … Shades of Gray (also known as Sixth Year, Part One)

Lyra had an odd sense of déjà vu as she hugged her father.

"Now, you keep yourself out of trouble. Do you hear me, lass?"

Lyra rolled her eyes, then grinned as her father gave her a mock-glare. "Kidding! Of course I will, Da. You know me!"

Kighan Montague gave his daughter a stern look. "_That_ is exactly why I'm warning you, lass. I know what you get up to."

Lyra only grinned more broadly, and with a peck on the cheek she trotted off to the train, turning and waving as her father Disapparated with a pop.

Suddenly, she was attacked from both sides as both James and Remus wrapped her up in warm hugs simultaneously. "Well, thanks, guys, I missed you too!"

Both of them laughed and started dragging her to the train by both arms. "So what have you been up to all summer, you little scamp?" James asked, laughing.

Remus joined in. "Yeah, we haven't heard from you since July!"

Lyra looked a bit guilty. "I'm sorry, guys. We were in South America, and Da was digging in one of the Incan temples… I guess I got a bit caught up and forgot to write."

James grinned, his eyebrows wiggling. "Not too busy to write to Padfoot, though, were you?"

Lyra smacked him upside the head. "Well o'course, ye dimwit! We all write to Sirius." The laughter died a bit as the three turned towards a more delicate topic. Lyra broke the ice first. "Did he come and stay with you at all?"

James shook his head, but Remus nodded. "Yeah, he's been at my house for the last two weeks. Couldn't take it anymore, I don't think, although he won't talk about it."

It was with this sobering thought that the three friends boarded the train, heading towards their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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The Common Room was explosively loud, as was typical for the first night back. Even Lily didn't scold them for the amount of noise they were making, apparently having learned by now that any such efforts before classes even started would be utterly useless.

Lyra pulled away from the crazy music-less dance that James had been leading her through, laughing. She plopped herself onto the couch, refusing all attempts to drag her back up again. "You lunatics! Bloody hell, I'm trying to keep from dying until I'm seventeen, at least!"

James and Peter, who had been trying to drag her back up, moved on to more cooperative partners with smirks on their faces, and Lyra sighed, shaking her head and barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She glanced over to the window, and sure enough, Sirius was still there, not paying any attention whatsoever to the antics of the other Marauders. He'd hardly spoken on the train or at the feast, drifting over to a corner as soon as they'd reached the Common Room.

Lyra sighed and climbed over the back of the sofa, padding silently over to stand next to her friend. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but when she put a hand on his shoulder, he allowed her to turn him to face her. She didn't say anything, but the question was there between them. Her answer was in his brown eyes, dark with pain that he would never admit to out loud.

She grabbed her friend's elbow and he didn't resist as she tugged him up the stairs to the boy's dorm. James watched them go, but didn't follow. He knew Sirius didn't want to talk, but his friend needed to. Maybe Lyra would have more luck than he'd had.

The Marauders' dorm was unnaturally clean, and Lyra knew that this miracle would last only as long as it took them to dump out their trunks. Having been in this room countless times before over the past six years, she knew quite well that it most often resembled a garbage dump.

Her mind wasn't on the cleanliness of the room at the moment, however. She was more worried about one of its occupants, who was trailing silently behind her. He shut the door behind them and walked past Lyra to sit on his bed, lowering his head to his hands.

"Goddamnit," she heard him mutter.

With a soft sigh, she stood in front of him and lifted his face up so their eyes met. "You going to talk, soldier, or do I have do break out the Chinese water torture?"

He laughed, and there was real humor in it this time, albeit very little, but Lyra figured she'd take what she could get. He took his hands in hers. "You could break out the handcuffs…"

She pretended to glare at him, but then shook her head and gave up, chuckling. "Would it work?"

His eyes were still sad, but they danced a bit as he smirked. "Anything to get you in bed, love."

Lyra smacked him upside the head, then sat down next to him. She was quiet for a moment, then whispered, "Sir… I'm not leaving 'til you tell me."

"Then you're gonna be here for a while." He didn't meet her eyes.

She looked out the window, seeing the first quarter moon rising low in the sky. "We've got time."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled them both down so they were lying on their backs on the bed, just staring up at the canopied top of the four-poster. They lay like that for quite a while, before Sirius spoke quietly.

"It was the usual. Sorted into Gryffindor, befriending half-bloods and Mudblood-lovers, not to mention blood-traitors like the Potters."

Lyra turned to look at him, but he was still gazing up at the ceiling. "She still can't come up with new material, huh?" His lips twitched, and she smiled sadly. "Fought back, didn't you? You know she only does it to provoke you."

His voice was wry. "Every time I tell myself that; I won't let her get to me, I won't rise to the bait. And I think I would have succeeded this summer, except… my dad joined in."

Lyra just kept quiet. He had to get it out; he wouldn't be able to get past it if he didn't.

"They said things. Worse than usual. Like, why couldn't I be like Regulus? Why can't I make… powerful friends like he has? That my friends…" His voice dropped so low that she had to strain to hear it. "That the children of people like Harold Potter and Kighan Montague wouldn't last long, and that I'd be better off dead than oppose the Dark Lord." One side of his mouth went up. "I… lost my temper a bit. Came within an inch of hitting my father. Told them Voldemort could go fuck himself, and that if they came near you guys, I'd kill 'em. Needless to say, that didn't go over too well."

He sat up suddenly and started rubbing his temples. Lyra watched him sadly. He didn't deserve this. He deserved so much more than those bloody bastards. She rubbed his back gently, but saw him flinch in pain.

"Lia…" he started, but she had already moved behind him, tugging his shirt free of his pants and up over his head, not bothering to unbutton it. He'd already loosened the collar and removed his tie.

She gasped. His back was a mass of bruises from his neck to where his pants covered him, and she knew that they probably continued farther down. His lightly-golden skin was barely visible for all the black marks; bruises nearly covered his skin.

"God, Sir…"

He just nodded, and she moved around to his side, but he turned his face away. She placed a hand on his cheek, turning him back, and he wouldn't meet her gaze, though his tears flowed in rivulets down his cheeks. Her own eyes filling, she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

He pulled her into his lap. They sat there, holding each other, for hours, and Sirius promised himself that no matter what his bastard family said, nothing would harm Lyra, or any of his friends. Nothing.

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Sixth year passed quickly, too quickly, as the years at Hogwarts always did. The Marauders outdid themselves on Halloween, charming the floating Jack-O-Lanterns in the Great Hall to begin fighting with each other and exploding, followed by an impressive display of Filibuster Fireworks in the main entranceway and a chorus of singing toads wandering the hallway, caterwauling to any passers-by.

All too soon, though, December had arrived, and Hogwarts was abuzz. Professor Dumbledore had announced that the school would be hosting a Yule Ball on Christmas Day's night, and that Fourth Years and above were welcome to attend, though dress robes were required. Naturally, every girl in Hogwarts was now concerned with one thing: what to wear.

All except one.

"Why does it matter?" Lyra asked Lily and Maya the next day.

Maya gave her a disbelieving look. "Well, it's the chance to dress up, go dancing, enjoy yourself. You love dancing, Lyr!"

"Yeah, but not in front of a bunch of people I don't know."

Lily put an arm over her shoulder. "You'll probably feel more comfortable when you're dancing with someone. I mean, you'll be there with a date; it's not as if you'll go by yourself."

Lyra stared at her. "Date?"

Maya chuckled. "Yeah, you know when you go up to a guy that you like and ask him if he wants to go to the dance? Or he asks you? Works both ways."

Lyra shook her head. "No. There's nobody I want to go with, anyway."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Oh, come on, Lyr. You wouldn't go with any of the guys in this school? They're not all that bad looking."

Maya smirked. "You could go with Potter, since I'm sure Lily's going to turn him down."

Lily sighed and shook her head. "I already did. He asked me after dinner last night. I actually almost felt bad; he looked so disappointed."

Lyra stared at her. "Well, then why didn't you say yes?"

"Well," Lily looked a bit guilty. "I already told Amos Diggory I'd go with him."

Maya shook her head. "Why don't you give James a chance one of these days, huh? He's not as much of a prig as he used to be, you know."

Lily smiled, but shook her head. "I know. Maybe I will, eventually." Then her gaze sharpened. "But enough about me! Maya, are you going to ask Remus?"

Maya sighed. "Yes. I really would like to go with him."

Lyra snorted. "Well, it took you bloody long enough to admit that you like him."

Maya choked. "Well, at least I can admit it!"

Lyra looked bemused. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you should ask Sirius!" Lily and Maya chorused together.

"What? Why?"

Lily looked exasperated. "Because the two of you have been mooning over each other for the past three years, and it's gotten worse this year. Just bloody ask him already!"

Lyra looked a bit regretful. "'S too late, even if I did want to ask him. I heard Jayne Li say that she's going with him, this morning."

Maya shook her head. "Did he say that? Because Li's been trying to get in his pants for years; she'd make that up easily."

Lyra shuddered. "Bad mental image there, May. Anyway, even if he didn't have a date then, I'm sure he does by now. This _is_ Sirius we're talking about here. Besides, it won't kill me to go by myself; I probably won't even stay the whole time anyway."

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Sirius stood in a corner of the Great Hall, wishing he had James' invisibility cloak. He just wanted to disappear. He'd been getting 'come hither' looks from about ten different girls throughout the first hour of the Ball, and he was seriously (no pun intended) about ready to leave.

Not that anyone would miss him if he did. With the full moon high in the sky, Remus had been unable to attend the Ball, and it didn't look like Maya had shown either, judging by how disappointed she'd been when Remus had turned her down. Merlin knew Moony had looked like he'd been about to cry. Not that he had, but still.

Prongs had voted to keep Moony company after his own disappointing encounter with Lily. Sirius shook his head. The two of them were ridiculous; always arguing. If they would both just shut up and listen to what the other was saying, they'd probably get on quite well.

Wormtail had decided to tag along with Prongs and Moony, leaving Sirius all alone at the dance. He'd asked Maya if Lyra was going, but she'd replied that the last she'd heard, Lyra hadn't even bought a dress, and that had been two days before. Therefore, with the exception of Lily dancing with Amos Diggory, Sirius was quite alone at the Ball. Despite numerous offers from the female population of Hogwarts, there hadn't been anyone, really, that he'd wanted to go with.

With a sigh, he turned and began making his way to the doors, intending to change out of his dress robes and let Snuffles have a run down by the lake, but then he stopped.

And stared.

God _damn_.

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Lyra stood at the doors to Great Hall, looking out over the throngs of students. She felt a bit out of place, not to mention awkward at coming alone, but she'd really had nothing else to do. The Marauders had all disappeared for the evening, Maya had gone to the library, and Lily had come with Amos to the dance. She assumed Sirius was here as well, with whatever bimbo he'd picked for the evening.

After spending an hour doing absolutely nothing, Lyra had sighed, pulled on the dress her father had sent her (the one she'd picked out in Rio that summer but hadn't had an occasion to wear, as the party they had planned to attend had been canceled), and swept her hear back in a loose French braid.

She didn't think she looked too bad, actually. She preferred minimal make-up, and her hair looked quite good, if she said so herself. Plus, she had fallen in love with the dress over the summer. It was a pale golden yellow, strapless and clinging to her torso until it reached her hips, whereupon it flowed out into a long, loose silky skirt that shimmered when she walked.

And so she strode into Great Hall, looking around and wondering what all the fuss had been about. Sure, yeah, it looked nice, but… all that worrying for this? She spotted Lily dancing with Amos to the slow song and shook her head with a smile, meandering along the edge of the dance floor.

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_Lyra? _

_Fuck me._

_Is that Lyra?_

_Merlin, I knew she was pretty, but DAMN._

_Oh, bugger, she's coming over here._

Sirius was staring. He knew it, and he couldn't stop it. Because the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life thus far was strolling in his direction, her gorgeous gown flowing around her legs as she walked.

Oh, Merlin, he was in SO much trouble here. Because ever since their third year, when he had taken notice of the fact that his friend was indeed female, and was quite nice to look at, he had managed to avoid thinking about Lyra as… well… Lyra. Beautiful, unattainable Lyra. The one girl he truly wanted, but also the one girl he wouldn't let himself have.

He wasn't good enough for her, but then who did he think was good enough?

All these thoughts were driven out of his mind when she walked over, smiling.

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_Shit. What is he doing here? Alone?_

"Hey, Sir."

"Hey, Li. I didn't think you were coming."

"Where's your date?"

"Don't have one."

_Really?_ "Oh."

"Well… Hey, Lia?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you want to dance?"

So they danced. For quite a while, actually. Lia was enjoying herself immensely, something that she hadn't though would be possible at this thing. She enjoyed dancing, but didn't usually like to do so in front of a large crowd of people, the Gryffindor Common Room notwithstanding, of course. But she found that Lily had been right; dancing with Sirius, she wasn't thinking about what other people were saying. She was just thinking about him.

Suddenly, she felt him bend down and whisper in her ear. "Do you want to get out of here? It's getting a bit too warm."

It was getting a bit hot and crowded, and Lyra agreed instantly, nodding her assent.

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The December air was chilly, as was to be expected, but neither Lyra nor Sirius was really paying it any mind at the moment. They were caught up in one of their inevitable bickering sessions, though neither could really remember what had started the mock-argument.

Lyra pulled the lapels of Sirius' outer dress robe closer, shivering, and Sirius stopped what he had been saying, looking at her with concern. "You too cold, Li?"

She shook her head, not wanting to go in yet, but her teeth chattered and gave her away. With a smirk, Sirius wrapped his arms around her. "Body heat works wonders, luv." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Lyra chuckled, but she snuggled closer into his chest. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to say yes when you offer to sleep with me, just to see what you'd do."

Sirius joined her soft laughter. "You know, to be honest, I don't know."

"Sure, sure."

They stood like that for quite a while, just gazing out over the lake, wrapped up in each others' arms. Suddenly, Sirius pulled back a bit, still keeping a tight hold on her.

Lia raised her head, watching him but saying nothing.

He couldn't help it. Merlin, she just looked so… heart-stopping. Breathtaking. Hell, he didn't even know.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and brushed her lips with his.

a/n: Oooh, cliffhanger! I know, I'm mean. And there will be more about Moony and Maya; this thing just got a bit long, so I decided to split it into two parts. All right, off to Part 2!


	5. Chapter IV: Interlude I

a/n: Yes, Lyra's finally back! Guys, thank you so much for all your support (and pleas); you make me keep writing, you know. I'm on a new penname because of some issues with the last one (aka, has issues). I know, I know, you're going to kill me; I ended the last chapter on a cliffie. Heh, well, I do so hate chronological order. So boring. Enjoy (and please don't hurt me)!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. But oh, don't I wish… Well, I do own Lyra. And Maya. And Laney, though she has yet to make her debut.

And All Will Come To Darkness

by nightshade468

Interlude I… Samhain

31 October 2003

_Beep…beep…beep…beep…_

A hand reached out from beneath the covers, fumbling around for the offending alarm clock. Grasping it, the hand let fly with a powerful curve ball, retracting itself with a satisfied sigh at the sound of a crash.

Several minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

There was no response from the lump under the covers. The knock came again, then a third time. Finally, Remus Lupin's voice came through the door.

"Get up, Aura."

Once again, he got no response.

"I know you're awake; I heard you murder your alarm clock."

Finally, he heard an annoyed mumble. "Fuck off, Moony. 'S Saturday."

Her friend pushed open the door. At that, Lyra's head popped out from under the covers.

Moony grinned, looking remarkably like a young boy once again. The lines from a life harder than it should have been seemed to disappear as he gave a boyish chuckle. "What did the poor thing ever do to you, anyway?"

Lyra gave him a baleful glare, promising swift and painful death. Such a glare had once made Death Eaters shiver; Moony only laughed in her face.

She growled at him. "It existed." She kicked the covers off. "Tell me why you've risked pain of death to wake me up at…" She glanced at the clock, which still lay in pieces on the floor. Grabbing her wand, she muttered "_Reparo_," and the evil device flew back onto her nightstand, whole and functioning once more. "Ten o'clock on a Saturday morning?"

"We were going to spend the day together, remember? Take a trip to Hogsmeade."

"‛Day' being the key word in that sentence, Moony. It is not 'day' yet, not this early on a Saturday." She looked at him. "Do not give me puppy eyes, Remus Lupin!"

"The sun's been up for nearly four hours, Aur. It's day. See the sunlight?"

"It's a sham."

Remus' eyes turned serious. "Lyra. Please."

She looked out the window. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all she wanted to do is scream at it all for being so disgustingly cheerful. Today. Today, of all days, it would be beautiful outside. Today, the day that brought heartbreak, annually.

"It's Samhain, Moony." She buried her face in a pillow. "I want to just go back to sleep, and then tomorrow it'll be ok again."

He sat down on the bed beside her, wrapping her in his arms. She leaned into him. It might not be her mate's embrace, but goddammit, today it would be close enough. Today, she was allowed to cry.

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Lyra's first year as a teacher was going quite well, she thought reflectively as she stared into a bottle of firewhisky.

Looking back, she realized that she had even enjoyed herself a little bit. As much as any enjoyment could be had in a place where she'd made so many memories, memories that nearly all made her grieve when she relived them.

With a shake of her head, she dragged herself away from her darker thoughts. Actually, she was quite proud of herself. She hadn't blown anything up, hadn't lost her temper, and had refrained from mass murder during her Slytherin classes, which was harder than it should have been. But then again, Lucius Malfoy's son was her student, so she really wasn't all that surprised.

And she had gotten to know her godson. Perhaps not as well as she could have, had she known him longer, but she was fast learning that she would not be able to disappear from his life again once this year was over. God, at times she would see him sitting in class, fooling round with the youngest Weasley boy, and she would swear it was James returned to life. Or he would smile at dinner, and Lily looked out from his eyes. The boy had not had permission to attend Hogsmeade, and had had to stay behind today; she knew that Remus had spent some time with him earlier that afternoon.

Moony had mentioned possibly working with Harry, silently asking permission from Lyra. She had given it; too much evil could come from the boy being unprepared. She knew Dumbledore believed him safe at Hogwarts; that no one could enter the castle completely unnoticed. She disagreed. So did Moony.

Her friend sat beside her, at the bar in the Three Broomsticks, where they had spent the time from late afternoon to early evening. Neither was even tipsy; they'd come in simply because they were allowed to now. The whole experience had lost some of its charm now that it wasn't forbidden, however.

Neither Lyra nor Remus drank alcohol, as a rule. Moony had had a few bad experiences with regard to his wolfish nature, and Lyra… she knew from trial and error that it didn't make one's pain disappear. It only made it come back even worse in the morning.

The two had been sitting at the bar for several hours, whiling away the time until the feast was to start, taking the occasional small sip from a firewhisky and conversing with Madam Rosmerta, reminiscing about their younger escapades.

Suddenly, that mischievous spark lit in Lyra's eyes again. Remus suddenly became a bit wary.

"What's gotten into you?"

She just grinned. Moony was decidedly worried now. That particular smile was _never_ a good thing. Lyra grabbed his arm, laughing to herself, and Rosmerta smiled fondly as she watched them leave, Remus' protests echoing behind them.

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"You twit, Lyra."

"Careful, Moony, the monsters might get you!"

They stood outside the Shrieking Shack, Lyra dancing around Remus in circles and making faces at him.

"You are incredibly immature, have you noticed?"

"How could I not when you remind me at every available opportunity?"

"Well, perhaps if you acted your age, I wouldn't need to remind you incessantly!"

"Aww, but Mooooony!"

"Never mind. I give up."

"And yet you keep trying."

Moony grabbed her waist suddenly, fast and unexpected. He ran tickling fingers up and down her sides, grinning like a schoolboy as she shrieked with laughter. "Vain hope, I suppose," he said, chuckling."

Lyra sobered, twisting away from him and sighing. "We should head back up to the school. Feast'll start soon; 's getting dark."

Remus nodded and the two began the long hike up to the castle. Moony stared up at the sky as he walked, and Lyra wrapped an arm around his waist, following his gaze. "Full moon in a few days."

"Mmmhmm."

Neither said anything more; the rest of the walk was spent in a comfortable silence.

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The fest was as delicious as ever; Lyra even managed to change the salt on Snivel's potatoes to sugar when he wasn't looking. His expression nearly made her crack up; it was with a serious effort that she managed to keep a straight face.

She knew Moony was watching her. In all likelihood, he was probably wondering why she was acting like a madwoman. To be honest, she didn't know herself. The only explanation she could come up with for her impulsive behavior was that it made her forget about the great gaping hole in her chest. Made her forget for one moment at a time.

As the students headed back to the dormitories, Lyra made her way over to Moony to challenge him to a chess game.

Suddenly, a Gryffindor came running back into the Great Hall, panting and hollering for Professor Dumbledore.

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Sirius Black had returned to Hogwarts.

Lyra's heart was pounding as she searched the east wing of the castle alongside Professor McGonagall. Not from fear, no. She knew he was long gone.

Her fear came from the fact that as soon as the Fat Lady had screamed out who had mutilated her painting, her own heart had taken a giant leap. That familiar rush had run all through her, making her fingertips tingle and her pulse race. Just from hearing his name.

After twelve bloody years!

She was so royally buggered.

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Lyra saw Moony waiting at the doors to Great Hall. From within, she could hear whispered voices. She was about to take another few steps forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder when she heard Snivelly's next words.

"Headmaster, I ask you to reconsider—"

"Severus, there is no one in this castle who would have given information to Sirius Black."

At this, Moony turned and met her eyes, his gaze deadly serious.

Lyra felt her blood go cold. Moony couldn't really think…

But he did. He was looking at her as if he expected an answer. He was asking if she had anything to do with this. With letting Sirius into the castle. With letting a murderer near her godson.

No, lust or not, she could not do that. No matter if she didn't trust her body not to respond to that… man, she would never put Harry in danger. Never.

She met her friend's gaze, her eyes stone cold. In a whisper, she said, "Fuck you, Lupin."

Relief flashed through his eyes, as well as an apology.

With a nod to him, she stepped past him into the Hall. "We'll be talking about this later," she muttered.

"Yes," he replied. "I think we need to."

Without replying, Lyra Black strode silently into the Great Hall. "Headmaster." Professor Dumbledore acknowledged her arrival with a nod. "Snivellus." Snivel glared, as usual.

"The castle is clear. Sirius Black is not within these walls."

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a/n: I know, I know, too short. I promise, I'll have Chapter 6 up soon. Hell, I've got the next four chapters outlined, I just need to write them. Bear with me for a few days, though; my computer crashed and I'm relegated to the computer lab. But I will write as often as I can.


	6. Chapter V

a/n: Here it is! And less than two weeks since I put the last chapter up! A new record! Well, let's just say a friend has been… ahem… encouraging me to write more, using alternating methods of threatening and praise. B, I really do heart you, you know. Moving on, thanks everybody once more for the wonderful reviews, both for this story and for any others of mine that you may have read.

Disclaimer: I own Lyra and Maya. And Kighan. Although, if J.K. Rowling should wish to use them, I have no problem whatsoever in giving their use to her wholeheartedly.

Chapter V …Misinterpretations…

_Sirius… kissing... kissing… kissing Sirius. Sirius kissing... Kissing Sirius!_

Lyra's eyes snapped open, and she jerked away from her friend. Her FRIEND. That she was not supposed to be snogging.

Technically, anyway.

But he looked really hot, all panting and out of breath, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. And his lips looked very nice. Oh, yes, they looked very nice indeed.

Suddenly, he pushed her back against a tree (where had that come from? she wondered) and smashed his mouth to hers again, his tongue forcing open her lips and sweeping into her mouth, tasting and teasing. Taking.

Lyra knew with some forgotten back corner of her brain that she should by all rights be pushing him away. But she really didn't… want to… right now…

Sirius pulled away, panting even more. Merlin. How had he managed not to kiss her for the past six years? She was standing there, the paler golden strands in her hair seeming to glow in the moonlight,

Her skin seemed pearly white, and the flushed spots in her cheeks were like the soft pink of the sunrise.

With a start, Sirius jerked himself awake. What the hell was he doing? He sounded like a bloody bard. And yet… Looking at Lyra, he could feel himself begin to wax poetic once more.

Lyra couldn't think. The only thought in her entire fuzzy brain was why on earth he'd stopped. With a growl, she reached up and dragged his face down to hers, nipping his bottom lip and shoving her tongue into his mouth.

They moaned simultaneously, and she could feel his surrender. He pulled her down to the grass, rolling atop her and fitting himself to her curves. She could feel his arousal, hard and hot against her belly, and moaned again as she pushed her hips upward.

Sirius groaned in response and ground himself down into her. He cuffed her wrists in one of his hands and slid the other down over her shoulder, caressing and then kneading her breast. With a growl, he released her wrists and put both hands to use, making Lyra start whimpering uncontrollably, arching her entire body into his.

Suddenly, Sirius' eyes shot open. What was he doing… He practically leapt back from Lyra, suddenly averting his eyes when she sat up. She glanced down, feeling the cool breeze on her chest, and jerked the top of her gown back up, blushing furiously.

They both sat there, perhaps three feet apart, simply staring.

"Sir," Lyra whispered.

"I know," he said quietly.

Her eyes widened. "Yes, but it's not that I don't want to, it's just…" she trailed off.

"Not yet," he finished with a relieved sigh. She nodded frantically, and he smiled softly.

He moved closer, taking her trembling hands in his, caressing her fingers with his thumbs. "Believe me, I know. I want to, too. Just not yet."

"But soon," she murmured, lost in his eyes.

"Yes," he replied in kind. "Soon."

They sat, for hours, just holding each other, staring out over the lake. Occasionally, they exchanged a soft kiss, but neither pushed anything. It was just nice to sit together, like that.

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Sirius could sense the sun about to rise soon. With a nudge of his shoulder, he woke Lyra, who sat up from her place curled up in his lap and stretched, yawning.

He smiled, brushing back a loose strand of soft brown hair from her face. She smiled back, shyly, rubbing her face into his hand like a cat. "Little kitten," he whispered.

She grinned then, and deliberately arched her back, making her breast press against the material of her gown, glimmering a pale moonbeam gold in the twilight.

He groaned and gently pushed her off his lab, standing and offering his hand to her. When she took it, he pulled her up into a passionate kiss. He forced himself to count to ten. Then he would pull away, he vowed to himself.

He'd only reached eight when he heard it. A snarl, then a growl.

His head jerked up, as did Lyra's. Suddenly, he saw them. A werewolf, running flat out after what looked like… a white tiger?

"Shit!" he muttered. What the hell was Moony still doing out? And who was that? With a muttered oath, he pushed Lyra in the direction of the castle. "Go on; I'm going to see what that was."

The stubborn wench held her ground. "No way, Sir. That sounded dangerous. We'll both go up."

Sirius put all the power of persuasion he possessed into his brown eyes as he gazed at her. "Please, Lia." She still stood, unmoving. He sighed, and looked at her, really looked at her. "Please… Kitten."

Her eyes softened. "Fine. But if you're not up at the castle ten minutes after me, I'm coming after you."

His eyes turned dark. "You'd best not."

"Try me."

He growled.

"All right, I'm going. See? This is me going."

As soon as she was out of sight, Lyra ducked behind a tree and waited for a count of ten. When she crept back to where she'd left Sirius, all she found was his dress cloak, still lying on the grass.

xxxxxxx

Padfoot was running through the Forbidden Forest, fully aware that he had a time limit. If he wasn't back to the castle exactly ten minutes after Lyra arrived, the damned female would follow him. He had no doubt about that.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white in the foliage beside him. He looked over again, but saw nothing, and barely avoided full contact with a nasty gorse bush. Shaking himself off, Padfoot continued on, following the scent trail of Moony and what he was now was very sure was a tiger.

About halfway back to the Shrieking Shack, Prongs' scent joined the others. He could only assume that Wormtail was riding on Prongs' back, as always.

He nudged the door to the dilapidated old building just as the sun peeked above the horizon. Trotting up the stairs, he entered the old bedroom, only to find Moony sitting on the bed, transformed back, with a huge white tiger curled up next to him. James and Peter stood by the fireplace, but they turned to him once he entered.

"Prongs, what the hell…"

A cold nose nudged his hand, and he jumped. Spinning around, he stood facing a white wolf with the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. He felt Padfoot stir inside him, but he just stood, dumbfounded.

"Padfoot." At the sound of James' voice, Sirius seemed to wake up, and he spun to face his friends. Before he could speak, however, James interrupted.

"Allow me to introduce our new friends. This is Claws," he pointed to the tiger, who nodded its head regally, "Wing," he pointed to the high window, where was perched a magnificent female red-tailed hawk, "and Aura." The white wolf whuffed softly, bowing her head.

_Whoa, wait. Her? Where did that come from? It could just as easily be a 'he',_ Sirius thought to himself. But something inside him knew; this wolf was definitely female.

Prongs' voice invaded his musings once again. "Ladies? If you would?" Confused, Sirius turned back around, although he felt more than heard 'Aura' step up beside him.

The tiger leapt silently off the bed to stand before Remus. Her form blurred, and suddenly, Maya stood there.

Sirius' jaw dropped.

The red-tail swooped down to land beside Prongs. In a moment, Lily was standing there proudly, her face smug.

With a growing foreboding, Sirius turned to the wolf named Aura. The she-wolf's bright blue eyes were glinting, and Sirius knew.

The wolf's form blurred, solidified into Lyra.

"It's been ten minutes," she said softly, smiling uncertainly.

He didn't say anything, but his face looked like stone, so expressionless was it.

He turned and walked out, through the door and down the stairs. He heard footsteps follow, the bedroom door shutting behind her, and he stopped in the parlor.

Her voice was angry. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's WRONG with me?" He whirls, his face thunderous.

"You heard me! What, are you just pissed because mere girls accomplished something you thought only you could do?"

He froze. "Do you really think I'm that arrogant, Lyra?"

She was caught off guard at his quiet tone. "No, I just--"

His voice is low, harsh. "You didn't think, just as you didn't think about becoming an Animagus, I'm sure. You just did it."

She was angry now. "And you're so different?"

"Yes, I am! I did it to help out my friend! You know, I don't think Moony really wanted his secret spread 'round the whole of Hogwarts!"

"Well, why do you think I did it? You're not the only clever one in this school, Sirius! We figured out Remus' secret back in third year! You can only go see a sick grandmother so many times, always on the full moon, without someone realizing, you know."

Sirius stood, shocked. "You knew? You knew he was a werewolf? And you still followed!"

"Yes, dammit, _Mother_, I did! Who are you to tell me what to do!"

Without warning, she found herself shoved back against the wall, Sirius pressing her wrists harshly into the old wood. "Do not EVER do something so dangerous again without telling me, Lyra."

She pushed against him, furious. "Well, I could say the same to you."

Suddenly, he was kissing her, pouring all his anger into it. She was just as fierce, her own fury making her careless as she nipped his tongue and tasted blood. He shoved himself up against her violently, the thrusts of his tongue mimicking what he would do to the rest of her.

"You think they're still going at it?" Peter's voice was like a shot into their consciousness, and Sirius yanked himself back away from Lyra, leaving her to lean against the wall, unable to stay standing on her own.

Lily came down the stairs, looking concerned, but Lyra shook her head. From beneath lowered lashes, she saw Moony put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. He didn't react, but she heard his voice, harsh and still angry. "Let's go. Now."

They went.

xxxxxxx

A week later, and Sirius and Lyra still weren't speaking. Quidditch practice had become an exercise in diplomacy for James, who was about ready to shoot both his Beater and his Seeker.

Said individuals were still conspicuously absent from the Great Hall that morning. Looking around, he saw that Peter was absorbed in reading that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet. He glanced over at Lily, who had been surprisingly civil to him since the full moon, and then over at Remus, who was currently leaning his head on Maya's shoulder and taking a quick catnap. Sure, he was happy for his friend, James thought with a sigh, but the new romance was so sweet that the he was surprised the rest of them hadn't died of glucose poisoning.

Actually, those were Lyra's words, not his. Ah, well.

Speaking of… neither she nor Sirius had yet arrived in the Great Hall. Not a good thing.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

Uh oh. James jumped out of his seat and ran for the entrance hall. This was not good at all.

"WELL, IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU HAVE NO COORDINATION, WOMAN!"

Lyra's books were spread out over the floor, and Sirius was standing nose to nose with her over them, both of them screaming at the top of their lungs.

He looked around and saw Ian Wood, who was watching the scene with something like morbid fascination.

"Wood!" he called, and the Gryffindor Keeper shot a startled look at him, his concentration interrupted. Unable to relay his message with words, considering the din Lyra and Sirius were making, he pointed at Wood and then at Lyra. Wood looked a bit nervous, but nodded, and the two boys moved it, yanking the feuders apart. Wood was forced to actually lift the furious Lyra off her feet to get her to move, and James had just wrestled Sirius maybe ten feet away when suddenly, his friend looked over his shoulder and saw Wood with Lyra in his arms, forcibly moving her as she shrieked at him in anger.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER!"

James found himself holding empty air as his best friend, already incensed, went downright berserk and leapt on Wood, tearing him away from Lyra

James just stared. So did Lyra. And the greater population of Hogwarts, who had all been watching the escalating argument.

"Sirius."

James turned, shocked, as he somehow heard Lyra's whisper above all the other noise.

"Sirius!" She shouted it this time. the teachers were coming, and James was sure that this wasn't going to end well.

Shockingly, when Sirius heard Lyra shout his name, he stopped. He blinked a few times, and seemed to realize that yes, he really was on top of Wood, punching him.

"Bloody hell," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Sirius--" Lyra started.

"WHAT!" he snapped.

"What are you doing?" She said it quietly, very quietly, but James had no doubt that his best mate had heard.

"Honestly?" His friend chuckled, sounding a bit amazed, as McGonagall arrived on the scene, looking shocked. "I have absolutely no idea." He reached a hand down to Wood, who, looking suspicious, grasped it and stood.

Sirius looked at him a bit oddly, but sounded very apologetic, which was a rarity for him. "Look, Wood, I… I didn't really know what I was… shit. Merlin, mate, I'm sorry."

Wood still looked a bit scared, but recovered nicely. "No harm done, mate. Pomfrey likes me, anyway." The Keeper looked at Lyra, who was still looking a bit dazed. "I think you'd better talk to your girl, though, Black."

"She's not my--"

"Am I not?" Lyra had snapped out of her daze at being referred to as 'Sirius' girl', and was now looking at him with fire in her eyes once again.

James groaned to himself. Here they went again.

But Sirius didn't take the challenge. He simply stood there looking at her. Then McGonagall grabbed him and Wood by the ears, dragging them off towards the Headmaster's office, and Lyra was left looking down the hallway, still without an answer to her question.

xxxxxxx

The weeks passed. Easter went by quickly, and James still didn't know if Sirius had ever had 'The Talk' with Lyra. The two were speaking again now, although they still argued, really argued, more than they had before.

Quidditch practices were intensifying, though, and James had no more time to ponder his friends' complicated relationship. Gryffindor was set to play Hufflepuff in the Quidditch Cup, and he focused all his energy on winning that match.

The night before the big game, Lyra and Sirius were up late, sitting beside the fire in the Common Room and talking quietly.

"Sir?"

"Mmm?"

"Come with me to Egypt for the summer."

"What?"

"My Da is heading up an expedition with some of Gringotts' curse-breakers; they'll be touring some of the bigger sites. He told me I could bring along a friend; I want you to come."

"Oh, I'm your choice of friend, eh? Or is this just a pity party, to get me away from my demented relatives? Poor little Sirius, he couldn't possibly manage to take care of himself 'round such horrible dark wizards." Sirius stood and started pacing.

"I never mentioned your family."

"Bloody hell, Lia. I'm not a charity case."

"I didn't ask you for bloody charity! Sure, I wouldn't mind it if you got away from your freakish relatives for the summer, but I assure you, my reasons are purely selfish!"

"And what are these selfish reasons?"

"Will you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy?"

"Sorry." He didn't stop.

With a sigh, she stood and stepped in front of him. When he tried to go around, she grabbed his arms. "I'm inviting you because I want you all to myself for the summer. And 'cause I want you to meet my father."

She grabbed his face in her hands. "But mostly because I want you to myself." With that said, she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him hard.

His arms wrapped around her, and against her lips he murmured, "Egypt, here we come."

xxxxxxx

The Quidditch final went brilliantly, despite the rainstorm, with Lyra catching the snitch six minutes into the game, making the final score Gryffindor 210, Hufflepuff 40.

When both teams landed on the pitch, the Gryffindors gathered for a victory cheer/hug. Two players were missing, however, and James felt Remus tug on his arm. His friend pointed, laughing his arse off.

James grinned, taking off his glasses and wiping the mud off of them. "Took them bloody long enough."

Sirius still sat on his broom, though his feet were touching the ground, and Lyra sat on his lap, their lips locked together, rain streaming down their faces.

xxxxxxx

a/n: Whaddya think? Is the ending too abrupt? Let me know… R&R! Thanks, m'dears!


	7. Chapter VI

a/n: Wow, I'm starting the next chapter the day after I posted V! What is wrong with me? Am I sick? No, I suppose I just had a really good idea that I wanted to put in here. Anyway, thanks to everybody who's read this, and mucho kudos to everyone who reviewed. You make my days with those! ... I thought it was about time to introduce Regulus. After all, the dynamic between him and Sirius is a really interesting one, brother against brother and all, and he'll definitely be reappearing in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters portrayed within, except for Lyra, Maya, Laney and Kighan. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. I don't even own this disclaimer, I don't think, boring as it is.

Chapter VI …Ad Infinitum…

Two figures Apparated into Diagon Alley with huge grins on their faces. With whoops, Sirius and Lyra gave each other a high five, and then Sirius yanked her into his arms and kissed her.

"Ahem."

The two broke apart, looking a bit sheepish. Lyra couldn't hold back her smile for long, though. "We did it, Da!"

Kighan Montague smiled fondly at his daughter and Sirius. "Aye, that you did. Well done." He gave them a mock-stern look. "Now, if the two of you can refrain from causing any trouble for a few hours, I have some business to take care of, and you have school supplies to buy. Are you meeting your friends?"

"Aye, Da, at Fortescue's."

"Be off with you then, I shall see you at the Cauldron in three hours. Dinna be late."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away down a side alley, his cloak billowing out behind him.

Sirius pulled Lyra close again. "I think we can spare a moment before we go." Giggling, she kissed him.

xxxxxxx

They emerged from Gringotts a few moments later, Sirius looking a bit green around the edges and muttering threats in the general direction of the bank's goblins. Lyra, however, was exhilarated.

"Can we go again?"

Sirius gave her a look. "You're mad."

"Aww, just because wikkle puppy's stomach huwts…" Lyra teased

"I'll show you 'wickle puppy', wench--"

"Oh, look!" she interrupted quickly, "There's Fortescue's, we'd best go meet the others." She hurried off towards the ice cream shop, Sirius following behind, grinning.

xxxxxxx

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was bursting with noise, containing as it did seven extremely hyper Gryffindors all excited for the coming term.

James and Sirius had begun conducting a reenactment of some medieval battle that only Lyra knew the name of, using chocolate chunks as ballista and knocking over piles of toffee. Lily and Maya had originally attempted to intervene, but when Peter and Remus joined in, with Lyra providing tactical advice to both sides, the girls had given up and become the cheering section.

An hour and several skirmishes later, the team of Sirius and Peter proved victorious, James protesting that Lyra had given her boyfriend better advice than she'd given her Quidditch captain. Lyra had just smirked and plopped into said boyfriend's lap, asking for a kiss. Of course, he willingly obliged.

Laughing and joking, the group headed out into the bright afternoon sun, Lily and Lyra waving their wands on their way out and leaving a pristine, intact table behind.

They split up, intending to meet up again at the apothecary's in a short time. James insisted on paying a visit to Zonko's, for professional reasons, of course, and dragged Sirius along behind him, despite his friend's grumbling protests at being separated from Lyra.

Remus wanted to check on something at Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Peter headed off with him, muttering something about looking for a book on the way.

The girls, meanwhile, had arrived at Madam Malkin's, although Lyra was there under protest. It was a well-known fact that she hated shopping.

"But I wanted to go to Zonko's," she whined, as Lily and Maya browsed through the selection of dress robes.

Lily shook her head firmly. "No. Sirius will survive without you for an hour. You need to get dress robes for the Yule and Graduation Balls. Do it now, and you won't have to worry about it later."

Maya chuckled as Lyra's eyes lit up. "You mean you won't harass me about it for the rest of the year?"

Lily sighed, although a smile was threatening to emerge. "Yes, I suppose so…" She trailed off as she watched Lyra shoot up from the chair she'd been slouching in and begin earnestly searching through the racks.

Maya laughed out loud at her friend's antics. "Well, there's a good motivator if I ever saw one."

A few minutes later, Lyra had browsed through nearly the entire dress robe collection, having picked out several winter and spring choices. They _were_ pretty, she mused, running her hand over the soft fabric. Maybe this whole shopping thing wasn't so bad after all.

Lily was currently in the fitting room. "So, you two, you definitely think I should go with the emerald green?" She emerged, wearing the clingy, bright gown, and her friends applauded.

"Oh, yeah," Lyra smirked.

Maya grinned. "James will faint. And I'm going to take a picture of it."

Lily looked wary. "Who says James will be having anything to do with it?"

Lyra chuckled. "Well, maybe the fact that when the two of you walked in, he had his arm around your shoulders and you didn't rip it off."

Maya nodded solemnly, her eyes twinkling. "So you finally gave in, eh?"

"Well," Lily looked abashed. Her friends grinned at her. "Ok, yeah. He… well, I saw him the other day when I went to take my Apparition test, and, well, he wasn't a git."

"And?" Both Maya and Lyra just looked at her, waiting.

"Well, I kissed him."

"_You_ kissed _him_? Not the other way around?" Maya looked disbelieving. Lily, the girl who had spent the better part of four years being completely repulsed by James Potter, had kissed him. Well. That was a surprise.

"Well, once it started, it was a mutual thing, but yeah, I got the whole process going."

"YES!" Lyra's triumphal outburst raised snickers from the other customers in the shop, but the girl seemed unconcerned. "I've said it before," here she looked pointedly at Maya, "but I hope I won't have to say it again. It took you BLOODY long enough!"

Lily laughed, her cheeks flushing. "Well, what about you? I know Maya spent the summer mooning over Moony, when she wasn't snogging him, that is, but what were you and Mr. Puppy-Dog Eyes up to?"

"Yeah, we haven't heard anything from you two since you left for Cairo at the beginning of summer break!" Maya chimed in.

Lyra just smiled. "Oh, we had an… interesting time."

"_Wow," Lyra murmured, watching the Pyramids of Giza as they floated past, carried on the strong current of the Nile._

"_Haven't you been here before?" Sirius asked, his voice a bit muffled._

"_Yes, several times. But I never get tired of it…" She trailed off, leaning back into him and sighing as his lips continued to work their magic on her neck._

_There was a noise from the deck above them and Sirius jerked back., straightening with a guilty look on his face. Lyra smiled and shook her head as her boyfriend looked around. "Is he here?"_

_Lyra simply sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into him again. "He's sleeping in the cabin up top."_

_She chuckled as he relaxed, tightening his embrace around her. Sirius and her father had gotten off to a good start, all things considered, but when Kighan had found the pair in a rather undressed situation in the forward cabin the day before, all hell had broken loose. Suffice to say that Sirius now had a healthy respect for the fury of Scottish fathers. _

_Now, however, the two simply stood watching the sun crest beyond Pharaoh Khufu's magnificent tomb, enjoying the stillness._

_xxxxxxx_

_Several days later, the party was camped at the ruins of Karnak. The awe-inspiring temple was immense, and one could easily get lost within the mazes of stone pillars it contained. Wizards, of course, could put to use a useful little locating spell that would give them the exact location of true north._

_Lyra, however, was experiencing the age-old frustration of a female whose mate refuses to stop and get directions._

"_I can find it!"_

"_That's what you said an hour ago!"_

_They were on the hunt for an underground chamber described to them by one of the curse-breakers, a younger fellow who had, to Sirius' growing anger, taken quite a shine to Lyra. The bloke had told them about a hidden chamber beneath one of the primary temple structures, a room purported to hold inscriptions of the rites used by the ancient wizard-priests to worship their moon god, Atum. No one had emerged from that room alive for centuries, according to the curse-breaker, laughingly implying that certainly if no professional could survive, a little boy like Sirius Black would be doomed._

_Of course, now Sirius had to go in. And come back out._

_How hard could it be?_

"_Bloody hell, Sir, could we rest a minute? You've been dragging me about for hours." Lyra plopped down on a fallen pillar, rubbing her eyes. She'd not gotten much sleep the night before, for more romantic reasons, and now she was doubly exhausted. "Could we just find this thing and get back to camp?"_

_Sirius was staring at a black pit under the fallen structure in front of them. "I think we have found it."_

_The darkness within the chamber looked menacing, and Lyra's survival instincts kicked in. "Ok, maybe this wasn't the best idea."_

_Now, of course, masculine pride ruled. "Aw, c'mon, Li, where's that Gryffindor courage?"_

"_Oh, I have courage. I also have common sense."_

"_Common sense is for sissies."_

"_I can't believe you just said that, you immature twerp."_

_Sirius shrugged and headed towards the dark hole in the ground. "Well, I'm going. If ye of the common sense want to keep me safe, you can just follow me in." He disappeared down what Lyra assumed was a flight of stairs._

"_Shit." Feeling that that one word accurately summarized her feelings at the moment, Lyra followed Sirius down into the darkness._

_For a second, she thought she was floating, unable to see a thing. Then she felt something touch her hand._

_With a shriek, she swatted at whatever it was, falling back on her ass ungracefully._

"_Way to be a klutz, love. _Lumos._" Sirius' face appeared before her, smirking._

_Growling, she kicked him, and heard him yelp. "Don't scare me, then."_

"_Fine. Merlin." He rubbed hid leg, then stopped. "What was that?"_

"_Not funny, Sir. We're here, we were in, now we're going back out." She turned, tugging him back up the stairs, but he stopped._

"_No, really. I'm not joking. I heard something move."_

_There it was again. A soft, swishing sound, like something… slithering over stone._

_Lyra groaned. "Bugger. Let's go." The two started hurrying as fast as they could up the stairs, but suddenly Sirius' wand went out, and the sound of crumbling and crashing stone was heard above them._

"_Oh, shit!" They had reached the top of the narrow stairs, and there was now a stone wall there. Whatever door had been opened was now closed. They were stuck in a sealed tomb with who-knew what. _

"Lumos!_" Lyra tried again. "_Lumos Maximus!_" _

_The slithering sound came again, closer. "Crap," Sirius muttered, yanking Lyra close. Both had their wand arms trained in the direction of the sound. Lyra felt a presence getting closer. Suddenly, she saw a single glowing eye appear in the darkness, its light an eerie pale orange._

_It was huge, nearly a foot in diameter. And it was a good two meters above the stone floor, or where she guessed the floor to be._

"_This could be bad," Sirius said lightly, his arm tightening around her but his wand arm staying steady._

"_Shift," Lyra whispered._

"_Padfoot and Aura?" Sirius whispered, not taking his gaze from the eye, watching it with a hunter's intent gaze._

"_Yeah. We'll see better." She took a deep breath. "On the count of five. One, two—" _

_Both suddenly felt a whoosh of air, and the eye shot at them, along with whatever huge body it was attached to. _

"_Five!" Sirius shouted, and the two leapt from the rail-less stairs, their forms shifting as they fell. Both landed on four feet, pacing each other as they moved as fast as possible. Aura chanced a glance back and saw a huge black snake-like worm shooting towards them, nearly a hundred feet long and she would bet a good ten feet wide. Its immense maw was opening, and whatever light her wolf-eyes caught reflected on long fangs._

This way!_ Sirius shouted at her mentally. _I feel air coming through here!

_The pair hurtled into a corridor, their dark pursuer close on their heels._

What is that thing?_ Sirius gasped._

A Lamia,_ Lyra answered, her mental voice strained. She was losing energy fast._ It drains your life force, then eats what's left. We have to destroy it, or get out into the open air. It can't abide sunlight or moonlight.

Destroy it? _Sirius asked sarcastically, tiredness creeping into his words as well. It wasn't as easy for a dog to run endlessly as it was for a wolf. _What'd you have in mind?

_Lyra thought for a moment, then yelped as she smelled fresh air. _Through there!

_The two shot out into the night, turning as one to face their pursuer. The worm had continued out of the tunnel, though it was moving much more slowly now. Sirius risked a glance around. No wonder. They were in an enclosed chamber, one who's roof had long since fallen in. _Any bright ideas, love? _He watched the thing approach, its maw hanging open repulsively. _It would be a new moon tonight, of course.

Best friends with a werewolf and you don't keep track of the lunar cycle? _Lyra asked sarcastically._

_Sirius was beginning to panic a bit. They were about to hit the rear wall of the chamber, the thing was closing in, and Lyra sounded as though they were merely taking a midnight stroll. _I really hope you have a plan, Li, because you don't sound nearly serious enough for me.

Of course I'm not Sirius, that's your name. _Rolling her eyes at the look he shot her, she continued, keeping a wary eye on their friend, who looked as though he or she was about to charge. _It doesn't like sunlight or moonlight, and we have no moonlight. Whatever shall we do?

_With a mental sigh, Sirius rolled his eyes. _Save the wisecracks for when this is over, love. On the count of three this time. One, two, three!

"**Lumos Soleim!"**

xxxxxxx

_Later that night, Kighan Montague fixed Sirius with a narrowed gaze. "And we are clear on this, young man? There are to be no more secret explorations into cursed temples."_

_Sirius nodded. "Yes, sir. Perfectly clear."_

_Kighan nodded, then allowed his expression to soften a bit. "Good. I encourage your curiosity, of course, Sirius, but let me know ahead of time before you go haring off into the unknown. Some of these places can be quite dangerous."_

"_I understand, sir."_

_Lyra's father allowed a momentary grin to show on his face. "My daughter thinks quite highly of you, you know. Excellent Quidditch player, top marks, and an incredible propensity for trouble." He gazed stonily at the young man sitting respectfully before him. Reminded him of himself in his younger years, actually. "While we're on the subject of Lyra, however, I will make myself clear on a few things."_

_Now Black looked a bit uncomfortable. "Yes, sir?"_

"_Keep whatever you do private. Lyra is a grown woman, nearly past her majority, as are you. I realize that there is little I can do to stop you from engaging in certain… activities. But keep it quiet. I really don't want to know what you get up to."_

_Sirius looked incredibly uncomfortable now._

"_And I hope you realize that if I suspected your intentions in any way, your head would now be hanging above my tent flap. You may go."_

_Sirius went._

_He found Lyra sitting a few yards away, chuckling to herself._

"_Yeah, ha ha, very funny," he muttered, sitting down beside her and pulling her into his lap. "Laugh away."_

"_Oh, I intend to." She snuggled back into him, turning her head to kiss his cheek, then his mouth._

_After a few moments, he pulled back and looked deep into her eyes, shadowed in the early twilight. "I love you, you know."_

_She smiled softly and nuzzled his nose. "I know. I love you too."_

_This time it was his mental voice that answered, as his mouth was too busy elsewhere, finding that place on her neck that made her melt. _I know.

_The darkness lightened, and the two young lovers were gilded with silver as night reluctantly gave way to day._

"So you had fun, then, mate?"

Sirius was jerked from his memories by James' question. He smiled innocently. "But of course, Prongsie-poo."

James rolled his eyes, shaking his head and bending to examine a package of wet-starting Filibuster Fireworks. "Personally, I'm just glad you had a summer you can smile about for once." He gave his friend a long look. "It's good to see you happy."

Sirius smiled, for once not joking. "Yeah, it's a nice feeling." He shook himself all over in a rather doglike way, and James grinned but didn't say anything. Sirius just wiggled his eyebrows at him, smirk firmly back in place. "Enough of this sentimental shit." He rubbed his hands together. "What mayhem are we plotting this year?"

James's expression formed into a smirk that was eerily similar to his friend's. "Ah, my dear Padfoot, that is indeed the question."

xxxxxxx

Finally having escaped from Madam Malkin's with the excuse of needing to get more owl pellets for her black owl, Soot, Lyra strolled through Diagon Alley, not feeling any need to speed up her errand. _Anything to avoid trying any more dress robes._

With a grin, she spotted Pete facing away from her, gazing across the alley into a small odds-and-ends shop. She snuck up behind him and prepared to scare the life out of him, then caught sight of what her friend was looking at. Or rather _who_ he was gazing at longingly.

"Fancy Laney Abbott, do you, Wormtail?" she murmured right into his ear. He jumped about a foot and gave her a dirty look.

"Thanks so much, Lyr." With a sigh, he turned back, but noticing that the object of his affections was now exiting the shop, turned quickly to face the other way.

Lyra chuckled softly. "It's about time, Pete." When he looked at her questioningly, she only smiled.

"What?" he asked, perplexed.

"She's fancied you for a while." Lyra had noticed sweet, pretty Elaine Abbott watching Peter on more than one occasion, but she also knew that the blond Hufflepuff was incredibly shy, and would never be the one to approach her friend.

Watching Pete watch Laney, however, she immediately decided to make sure that they got together. She didn't care what Lily said about meddling, she was sticking her nose right in where it didn't belong, and she was quite proud of it. _Someone has to play fairy godmother, after all, or these two will mon over each other as long as Sir and I did. And I wouldn't wish that on anyone._

"Well!" she exclaimed with a grin. "Let's just go meet up with her, then!" Pete looked shocked at the very idea, but Lyra wrapped her arm around his waist and steered him towards Flourish and Blotts, where Elaine had just disappeared inside.

"No," Peter gasped, nearly hyperventilating, as Lyra dragged him bodily towards the store.

"Shut it, Pete!" Lyra hissed into his ear. "You don't want her to think you're some kind of demented idiot, do you?"

He stopped with the frantic struggling, but still looked terrified. "I can't do this, Li! I'm not like the others, I can't flirt with girls like Padfoot and Prongs do!"

Lyra stopped him just inside the door, spotting Elaine near the top of the stairs, browsing, although Lyra would have bet good money that she was watching every move Pete made. Turning toward her friend, Lyra grabbed him by the shoulders. She wasn't quite as tall as he was, but she stuck her face right up in his anyway.

"Peter. You are a funny, adorable guy with one of the best senses of humor I have ever met in my life. Any girl would love to date you; you don't give yourself nearly enough credit." She turned him towards the stairs, which Elaine was currently coming down. "Now go over there and tell the girl of your dreams how you feel!" With a grin, she literally shoved him in the right direction.

As always, her timing was impeccable.

Unable to catch his balance in time, Peter crashed straight into Elaine, knocking her on her ass on the stairs and landing right on top of her. Her books were scattered all around.

Lyra ducked back behind a handy stack of books to watch the action unfold, a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Pete looked completely panicked and was nearly hyperventilating again as he apologized repeatedly, while Elaine just sat there and looked at him, a blindsided expression on her face. Lyra was just starting to wonder if her gamble had failed when the blond girl started to laugh. At first she just chuckled, but then she let loose with a loud burst of real laughter. Pete smiled, blushing, but then started laughing too. He pulled her to her feet, gathered up her books and, smiling shyly, asked if he could carry them to the register for her. Beaming, Elaine agreed, and the two wound their way through the stacks of books, still laughing and talking easily.

Lyra smiled proudly. "I think I've found my life's calling," she giggled to herself.

Two strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Merlin, I hope not," Sirius joked.

Smiling, she leaned back into his chest, covering his hands with hers. "Aw, c'mon. They're so cute! And it's way past time that Pete found somebody."

Nodding in agreement, Sirius nuzzled her neck. "Very true."

Giggling, Lyra craned her head around to kiss him softly. "I love you."

He held her tighter and kissed her back. "I love you, too."

"Well, isn't this just completely sickening?"

They spun, Sirius putting himself between his brother and Lyra.

"What do you want, you little worm?"

Regulus smiled, but it was a sickening, oily expression that was completely out of place on his handsome face. Lyra stared at him, surprised by the remarkable resemblance between the siblings. The Black genes certainly bread true.

At fifteen, Regulus was only an inch or two shy of his elder brother's six foot two. They had the same ripped body, and the same soft black hair, although Regulus' only just brushed his shoulders, and Sirius' had grown a few inches longer over the past year.

She met the younger Black's eyes squarely. They were the same color as his older brother's a rich chocolate brown, but there was none of the good-natured humor in his that always seemed to radiate from Sirius. She shivered. Regulus' eyes looked cold as ice.

The younger Black simply smiled wider at his brother's demand. "Tsk, tsk, blood-traitor. Seems you lost all your manners when you started hanging out with this trash."

With a snarl, Sirius lunged at him, but was stopped by Lucius Malfoy grabbing his arm. "Watch your temper, Black," the other Slytherin purred, shoving Sirius back.

Seeing that her boyfriend was ready to lunge at the two purebloods and damn the consequences, Lyra intervened. "This is none of your concern, Malfoy. Go back into whatever hold you crawled out from."

"As if I would even acknowledge the existance of Kighan Montague's spawn," Malfoy sneered. Sirius growled low in his throat, but Lyra merely smiled.

If he hadn't been so well-bred, Lucius would have gulped. Regulus took a small step back.

Montague's smile had fangs. Her canines had lengthened the tiniest bit, just enough to sharpen them. Her eyes had darkened to a deep indigo, and Lucius could feel the hatred in them. The blood-traitor Black stood behind her, his face feral and murder in his eyes.

Taken aback, Lucius turned and walked out of the shop, his robes swishing. Hurriedly, Regulus followed, casting nervous glances behind him at his brother and the frightening female who looked like she wanted to follow them and rip them apart.

Taking a deep breath, Lyra closed her eyes and deliberately calmed her anger. When she opened her eyes again, they were their normal clear blue, and the fury in them had faded. She turned to say something to Sirius, but before she could do more than open her mouth, he kissed her hard. With tongue, and teeth. There, in the middle of Flourish and Blotts.

With a gasp, she pulled away, a different kind of fire lighting her eyes. Sirius looked dangerous, and hell if it didn't turn her on like mad. Both were breathing hard.

Sirius growled. "They won't win. I'll stop them, I swear it." He brushed a gentle, calloused hand down her cheek, tension making his body quiver. His eyes were still fiery.

"No," Lyra whispered hoarsely. "We both will."

He nodded, then kissed her again. That was how the others found them, an hour later, still wrapped up in each other and letting the rest of the world fade away.

xxxxxxx

a/n: Whoo! That took me a while! Things are certainly heating up, aren't they? much cackling ensues Seventh year's coming up! Wonder what will happen? smiles maniacally Guess you'll have to wait! Mwahaha. R&R!


	8. Chapter VII, parts one and two

a/n: See? More! It's a little longer… more to come!

Disclaimer: I own it all! Mwahaha! … Just kidding. Standard disclaimer applies.

Chapter VII … Approaching Storms…

And so seventh year began, much as had every other year at Hogwarts. Everything was the same as ever, save for a slight nostalgia that had settled over the seventh years. Except for those who were planning to apply for teaching positions (the D.A.D.A. job would always be available, after all), the oldest students would not be returning to the castle that many had begun to think of as home.

Some things had changed, of course. Lily and James had made Head Boy and Girl, and to everyone's amazement, Prongs had risen to the occasion. That was not to say that he had forsaken his Marauders, of course. It only meant, as he told Remus under his breath the first day of term, that he couldn't let himself be caught.

Even so, James Potter was proving to be a capable Head Boy, much to his fellow Marauder-in-Chief's dismay. Lily claimed all credit for her boyfriend's apparent reform, although she still bashed James upside the head when necessary. Lyra swore her friend enjoyed it, and told Sirius as much one day during one of their numerous forays into the deserted back of the library stacks.

"Of course she enjoys it," Sirius muttered, running his hands over his girlfriend's shoulders as she kissed his neck. "And I swear to Merlin that Dumbledore set them up as the Heads, just to end the shouting."

"Mmhmm," Lyra agreed, not making a more detailed reply as she was currently putting her mouth to much better use. With a groan, Sirius shoved her up against the end of one of the stacks, and nothing more was said for some time.

xxxxxxx

Romance was in the air. With most of Hogwarts pairing up for the annual Yule Ball, Lyra was extremely glad that she had a guaranteed date. Surprisingly, she wasn't as adverse to the idea of going as she had been in previous years. Sirius hadn't technically asked her yet, of course, but she figured she was right to assume that they were going together.

After all, she'd castrate him if he went with anyone else.

She figured he was smart enough to realize that.

Indeed he was, apparently, because when she entered Great Hall for breakfast a week before the big event, Soot dropped a red rose into her lap. Tied to the stem was a note reading:

_Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I'd love to go to the Ball with Sirius Black  
Would you? _

_- Snuffles_

With an outright laugh, she stood and walked out, finding him waiting in the hallway. Smiling brightly, she walked right up to him and kissed him hard.

It lasted for a bit longer than intended, and by the time they broke apart, people were whistling and clapping.

Sirius was smirking. "So, I'll just take that as a 'yes', then, eh?"

Lyra smirked right back. "You had better, you ponce. Could you have been any more cheesy? The old 'roses are red' rhyme, for crying out loud."

"Well, the cheesy ploys must work on you, love, 'cause you seemed happy enough when you were snogging me just now."

"There was mutual snogging. It was not all me."

"You started it, Li. I merely finished it."

"Who says you finished it, you duffer? I-"

Suddenly, a stern, slightly exasperated-sounding voice echoed from behind them. "As engrossing as the love lives of Mr. Black and Ms. Montague are, I would very much appreciate it if the two of them would postpone their soap opera and get themselves to their next class."

Slightly sheepish, Sirius and Lyra turned and faced their Head of House.

"Sure, Professor McGonagall."

"On my way, Minnie my dear."

"Black!"

"Going…"

xxxxxxx

"For the love of Godric, Lils, how much time do you need to spend on your hair? Other people need to use the mirror, here!"

"Gee, Lyr, I thought you didn't need a mirror. Rejecting 'feminine wiles' and all was how you put it, wasn't it?"

"Oh, shut it, May."

"Both of you be quiet. There, I'm done."

"Yes, O Mighty Head Girl. We obey your every command, milady."

"You want to make it to the Ball alive, Lyr?"

Lyra gave the redhead an evil glance. "I'm not scared of you. I know all your secrets, my dear. Now shut up and let me get ready."

Maya snickered. "I told you, once we got her into it she'd become obsessed with girly stuff."

"I'm not obsessed. This is our last Yule Ball! I just want to look nice!"

"Whatever you say, Lyr," Lily and Maya said simultaneously.

"Sod off!"

xxxxxxx

The four Marauders stood in the Gryffindor common room, all in their dress robes. James was shifting his weight from foot to foot, attempting to ignore the whispers and giggles coming from the sofa where several second- and third-year girls were watching the older boys with something like awe. Pete was checking his watch every minute or so, obviously anxious to find Elaine, and Remus was smiling at him and shaking his head.

Only Sirius wasn't fidgeting, amazingly. He was standing at the window, gazing out into the night with a faraway expression on his face. He hadn't been talking much lately, and the other Marauders had noticed, although they hadn't said anything yet.

His attention snapped back to the present as the girls descended the stairs. Lily came first, looking gorgeous in emerald green. Sirius had a feeling that from the way James was practically drooling, they weren't going to be getting much out of Prongs that night. Remus gave Maya an admiring glance and a sweet kiss on the forehead, and Sirius smiled tolerantly. _Good for them._

After a minute had passed and Lyra still had not appeared, Sirius finally called up the staircase, "Li, are you coming? Pete's about to have a heart attack here."

"What, you're not anxious to see me either?" she quipped, stepping down the staircase and smiling at him shyly.

Sirius was dumbstruck. If he had been capable of coherent thought at that moment, he might've wondered why seeing Lyra in a dress always made all the blood in his body rush straight south. _Does it really matter, mate, if she looks like that? God, I love her. _

It did take him a minute, but he was finally able to put a sane expression back on his face and give her one of his 'charming' smiles, cupping her face and kissing her. "You look amazing, love."

She chuckled softly. "You don't look half bad yourself, my lad." And he didn't. His formal robes fitted him very well, and with his longish hair pulled back in a queue, he looked much older than seventeen. And handsome. Had she mentioned handsome?

That, too.

And when he gave her that rakish grin and wiggled his eyebrows, it was all she could do not to hug him. _Merlin, I'm in love with this man._ She paused. _And he is a man now, isn't he? They all are._ She watched her friends walk out of the common room, all grown up. _Now that's scary. _She gripped Sirius' arm tighter, and he pulled her close with a smile. Content, they walked out, arm in arm.

And the second- and third-years watched them leave, wistful, for it seemed as though it would be an eternity before they would be in the Marauders' places.


	9. Intermedium

Hey, guys!

I know you've all been begging me for updates, and they're coming, I swear! I may be writing another story that goes along the same lines, though, because I've hit a bit of writer's black with this one at the moment, but I will be finishing 'Darkness'! I promise!

Nightshade


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